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| Hyotissa mcgintyi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Ostreida |
| Family: | Gryphaeidae |
| Genus: | Hyotissa |
| Species: | H. mcgintyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Hyotissa mcgintyi (Harry, 1985) | |
Hyotissa mcgintyi, also known as Parahyotissa mcgintyi, is a species of medium-sized saltwater "oyster", a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Gryphaeidae. This species occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean. Species in this genus are known as "honeycomb oysters" or "foam oysters" because under magnification, the majority of their shell structure is characteristically foam-like.
In biology, a species ( ) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. While these definitions may seem adequate, when looked at more closely they represent problematic species concepts. For example, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, and in a ring species. Also, among organisms that reproduce only asexually, the concept of a reproductive species breaks down, and each clone is potentially a microspecies.
The Gryphaeidae, common name the foam oysters or honeycomb oysters, are a family of marine bivalve mollusks, and are a kind of true oyster. This family of bivalves is very well represented in the fossil record, however the number of living species is very few.
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 square kilometers. It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. It separates the "Old World" from the "New World".
